The present invention is directed to a coupler for connecting the ends of two hoses together. There are presently hose-connectors for connecting the ends of hoses, which prior-art hose-connectors are made up of two, interconnecting components. Each component, or part, has a male end and a female end. The male end of the first component is connectable to the female end of one hose, while the female end of the other component is connectable to the male end of another hose. The female end of the first component and the male end of the second component are, then, telescopingly mounted together to complete the coupling of the ends of the hoses. The first component of the coupler is provided with interior roller bearings at the female end thereof, for releasably gripping an annular groove formed in the male end of the second component, whereby the two components of this prior-art coupler are interconnected. To de-couple the two components, there is provided a retractable outer sleeve that slides over the female end of the first component. In its fully retracted position, which is achieved by overcoming a biassing force that normally pushes the sleeve into its locking position, the sleeve allows the roller bearings to be pushed into the interior of the housing of the first component, whereby the male end of the second may then be pulled out in order to decouple the two hoses. When the sleeve in its unretracted position, it prevents the roller bearings from entering into the housing of the first component, whereby the rollers bearings are prevented from escaping out of the annular groove formed in the male end of the second component, thus firmly locking the two component together for coupling the two hoses together.
While the prior-art coupler is effective, it suffers from a number of disadvantages. The prior-art coupler requires two separate parts or components, as above-described: One component fitting over the female end of the first hose, and a second component fitting in the male end of the second hose. Thus, not only is the cost for making such a coupler considerable, owing to the plurality of parts, but, moreover, if one of the two components of the coupler is lost, then the two hoses may not be coupled together until a replacement-component is purchased. It is not uncommon for a retailer to sell only the complete, two-component coupler, but not each individual component separately. Thus, it is not uncommon that, if one component is lost, the user must purchase an entirely new coupler of two components, since replacement component-parts are not, typically, readily available. This, again, adds considerable cost to the user.